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- Ελληνικά
The Deputy Minister of State for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Mr.Filippos Hadjizaharias, participated in the Informal Meeting of the EU Research Council, which took place on Friday 28 July 2023, in Santander, Spain.
During the Council's proceedings, an orientation debate was held on strengthening the European framework for Science Diplomacy and the role of science in policy-making and international relations. In his intervention, Deputy Minister Filippos Hadjizaharias stressed that Scientific Diplomacy is an important tool for jointly addressing global challenges and for the effective building of partnerships between states in a difficult time for international relations.
Cyprus attaches particular importance to the use of scientific knowledge as a tool for effective policy making and in shaping diplomatic relations. Addressing global challenges and managing emerging technologies requires expertise and cross-sectoral coordination. To this end, it is particularly important to create support structures for policy makers and training, information and networking activities between the scientific community and diplomats.
The Deputy Minister stressed the leading role of the EU in addressing global challenges and highlighted the need to strengthen cooperation with third countries that share the same democratic values. He concluded his intervention by referring to the PRIMA initiative, which is a successful example of Scientific Diplomacy between the EU, Member States and non-European Mediterranean countries. The creation of PRIMA is a successful model of international cooperation to address common challenges of the Mediterranean countries.
In the second part of the session, the "Strategic Plan" of the Horizon Europe (OE) funding programme was discussed. Ministers exchanged views on the involvement of Member States in the development of the strategic document, as well as on the challenges identified so far in the implementation of the programme. In addition, they exchanged views on the new "Strategic Plan" for the period 2025 - 2027, which is currently under development.
In his intervention, Deputy Minister Filippos Hadjizaharias stressed that the consultation with Member States should be done in a timely manner, in order to allow sufficient time for the formulation of national positions.
In his intervention, Deputy Minister Filippos Hadjizaharias stressed that the consultation with Member States should be done in a timely manner, in order to allow sufficient time for the formulation of national positions. Furthermore, he stressed that the objectives of the Strategic Plan should be aligned with the priorities of the European Research Area, while maintaining flexibility for exceptional challenges and new needs. He noted that there is no clear link between the five "Missions" of the OE and the different parts and instruments of the programme and called on the EU to intensify their visibility and promotion activities.
Regarding the content and implementation of the new OE Strategic Plan, the Deputy Minister of State for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy stressed the need to maintain the balance of the programme between basic and applied research and innovation, taking into account the potential of smaller countries, in particular as regards the instruments for
